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ronja__'s review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
_fitbrah_'s review
4.0
A novel about changes.
Gradual changes you don't notice (lovers slowly falling out of love, trees growing)
Discreet changes, which you do notice happening (technological advancements and the development of a narrative)
And changes you expect to happen, but then happen without you noticing them. (getting used to living in a new country, getting over a relationship)
Nassim Taleb should give it a read. I think he'd like it.
Gradual changes you don't notice (lovers slowly falling out of love, trees growing)
Discreet changes, which you do notice happening (technological advancements and the development of a narrative)
And changes you expect to happen, but then happen without you noticing them. (getting used to living in a new country, getting over a relationship)
Nassim Taleb should give it a read. I think he'd like it.
bethdent's review
adventurous
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
After this I shall be not be reading ‘optional’ books for my uni models ever again…
xyz22's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
colorfuldreamer's review
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
tyraohrnberg's review
1.0
Boring...ledsen. (twisten på slutet va VÄRLDENS besvikelse, hoppades på något bättre...)
elifnaz's review
3.0
Really 2.5 stars instead of 3. There were a few one-liners (which are really longer than one line because his sentences can get lengthy) that I enjoyed. His neuroses and paranoia in particular were intriguing and I would have preferred if he succumbed to them and hit some sort of a downward spiral instead of the weird John-Ford-cameo conclusion.
Overall though, the protagonist fell very flat. While this is meant to be a journey across the “length of America,” the author’s descriptions of Philadelphia/St. Louis/Arizona all blended together and the suspense of the protagonist’s wife literally hunting him down to kill him was barely palpable. Nothing about the descriptors used for the transition between landscapes and towns was impressive or really stuck out. Quite a bit of racist imagery of every non-white demographic in the US. And of course of the protagonist beating his wife and then feeling “tenderness” toward her. I don’t know that I’ll read anything else by Handke after this.
Overall though, the protagonist fell very flat. While this is meant to be a journey across the “length of America,” the author’s descriptions of Philadelphia/St. Louis/Arizona all blended together and the suspense of the protagonist’s wife literally hunting him down to kill him was barely palpable. Nothing about the descriptors used for the transition between landscapes and towns was impressive or really stuck out. Quite a bit of racist imagery of every non-white demographic in the US. And of course of the protagonist beating his wife and then feeling “tenderness” toward her. I don’t know that I’ll read anything else by Handke after this.